India: Manipur Catholic Women’s Organisation Holds Leadership Training

The Manipur Catholic Women’s Organisation (MCWO), a wing of the Archdiocese of Imphal in northeast India, organized a Training of Trainers program for Women Leaders on August 31, 2025.

Participants came from four Imphal Valley parishes, Holy Trinity (Lamphel), Mary Immaculate (Chingmeirong), St. Joseph’s Cathedral (Mantripukhri), and St. Paul’s (Sangaiprou).

The one-day training, hosted by the Women’s Society of Cathedral Parish at the Christ Jyoti School auditorium, featured resource persons Mrs. Jacinta Awungshi and Mrs. Lydia Ngoruh from the Diocesan Resource Team.

Mrs. Justina Roel, the newly elected MCWO president, also addressed the participants. Thirty women attended the session.

The training began with an outline of its objectives: to equip women leaders to guide parish groups, foster mutual spiritual support, and strengthen Catholic faith within their communities.

The resource persons presented the lesson plans, followed by a “Spiritual Conversation” exercise. This sparked an engaging and interactive session where participants shared insights, highlighted the importance of supporting one another spiritually, and emphasized the need to reinforce parish faith and revitalize the Church. An action plan was drawn up to extend this mission to all villages.

This initiative takes place against the backdrop of more than a year of ethnic violence in Manipur, which has claimed lives, destroyed properties, churches, and Christian-run institutions, and displaced thousands of people since May 2024.

Amid these ongoing social and political tensions, the Catholic Church continues to animate people, especially women and youth, helping them build morale, confidence, and resilience to face the challenges of the present time.